Why do left and right have political meaning?   

Blue Origin flies thrill seekers to space, including oldest astronaut ...

20/05/2024

The divide between left and right is one of the most fundamental markers in politics. But have you ever stopped to think about why we use those directional terms to describe ideological camps? It may surprise you to learn that this terminology traces back to the seating arrangements of French revolutionaries over 200 years ago. Washington [Read more]

Rules aim to prevent ‘circus-atmosphere' in Trump-Biden debates...

20/05/2024

President Joe Biden and his Republican rival in the 2024 presidential race, Donald Trump, have agreed to participate in two debates. A set of rules aims to make their interactions as civilized as possible. But whether the debates will sway undecided voters remains to be seen, particularly given their timing. VOA's Veronica Balderas Iglesi [Read more]

Pro-Palestinian protesters set up a new encampment at Philadelphia's Drexel University...

20/05/2024

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — Pro-Palestinian protesters set up a new encampment at Drexel University in Philadelphia over the weekend, prompting a lockdown of school buildings, a day after authorities thwarted an attempted occupation of a school building at the neighboring University of Pennsylvania campus. After several hundred demo [Read more]

China launches anti-dumping probe into EU, US, Japan, Taiwan plastics...

20/05/2024

Beijing — China's commerce ministry on Sunday launched an anti-dumping probe into POM copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, imported from the European Union, United States, Japan and Taiwan. The plastics can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc and have various applications including in auto parts, electronics, and m [Read more]

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Voa news - Health

Heat across Asia 45 times more likely because of climate change, study finds ...

20/05/2024

BENGALURU, India — Sizzling heat across Asia and the Middle East in late April that echoed last year's destructive swelter was made 45 times more likely in some parts of the continent because of human-caused climate change, a study Tuesday found. Scorching temperatures were felt across large swaths of Asia, from Gaza in the west � [Read more]

Musk, Indonesian health minister launch Starlink for health sector ...

20/05/2024

DENPASAR, BALI, INDONESIA — Elon Musk and Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin launched SpaceX's satellite internet service for the nation's health sector on Sunday, aiming to improve access in remote parts of the sprawling archipelago. Musk, the billionaire head of SpaceX and Tesla TSLA.O, arrived on the Indonesian r [Read more]

Blue Origin flies thrill seekers to space, including oldest astronaut ...

20/05/2024

Washington — After a nearly two year hiatus, Blue Origin flew adventurers to space on Sunday including a former Air Force pilot who was denied the chance to be the United States' first Black astronaut decades ago. It was the first crewed launch for the enterprise owned and founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos since a rocket [Read more]

What happened in the UK's infected blood scandal? Inquiry report due Monday...

20/05/2024

London — The final report of the U.K.'s infected blood inquiry will be published Monday, nearly six years after it began looking into how tens of thousands of people contracted HIV or hepatitis from transfusions of tainted blood and blood products in the 1970s and 1980s. The scandal is widely seen as the deadliest to afflict Britain' [Read more]

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Voa news - Politics

Upside-down flag at justice's home another blow for US Supreme Court under fire ...

20/05/2024

WASHINGTON — An upside-down U.S. flag has long been a sign of dire distress and versatile symbol of protest. But in January 2021, when it flew over the home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, it was largely seen in connection with a specific cause: the false claim by then-President Donald Trump's supporters that the 2020 election [Read more]

Biden launches $14M ad campaign to reach young Black voters ...

20/05/2024

The US presidential race is on — and each of the candidates is attempting to pull certain populations away from his competitor. The Black voting bloc in the US has historically voted Democrat. But as VOA's Carolyn Presutti shows us, the Biden campaign is getting worried. [Read more]

Giuliani last of 18 defendants served in Arizona fake elector case ...

20/05/2024

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Pro-Palestinian protesters rally in Washington to mark painful past, present ...

20/05/2024

WASHINGTON — Hundreds of protesters rallied within sight of the U.S. Capitol, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans and voicing criticism of the Israeli and American governments as they marked a painful present — the war in Gaza — and past — the exodus of about 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from what is now Israel when [Read more]

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Voa news - Tech

Changes from Visa mean Americans will carry fewer credit, debit cards ...

20/05/2024

new york — Your wallet may soon be getting thinner. Visa on Wednesday announced major changes to how credit and debit cards will operate in the U.S. in the coming months and years. The new features could mean Americans will be carrying fewer physical cards in their wallets, and will make the 16-digit credit or debit card number pri [Read more]

Illness took away her voice. AI created a replica she carries in her phone ...

20/05/2024

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND — The voice Alexis "Lexi" Bogan had before last summer was exuberant. She loved to belt out Taylor Swift and Zach Bryan ballads in the car. She laughed all the time — even while corralling misbehaving preschoolers or debating politics with friends over a backyard fire pit. In high school, she was a soprano [Read more]

Musk, Indonesian health minister launch Starlink for health sector ...

20/05/2024

DENPASAR, BALI, INDONESIA — Elon Musk and Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin launched SpaceX's satellite internet service for the nation's health sector on Sunday, aiming to improve access in remote parts of the sprawling archipelago. Musk, the billionaire head of SpaceX and Tesla TSLA.O, arrived on the Indonesian r [Read more]

Blue Origin flies thrill seekers to space, including oldest astronaut ...

20/05/2024

Washington — After a nearly two year hiatus, Blue Origin flew adventurers to space on Sunday including a former Air Force pilot who was denied the chance to be the United States' first Black astronaut decades ago. It was the first crewed launch for the enterprise owned and founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos since a rocket [Read more]

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Voa news - Finance

China property shares jump on report of government plans to buy homes...

20/05/2024

HONG KONG — Shares of Chinese property developers rallied on Thursday after a report that China was considering a plan for local governments across the country to buy millions of unsold homes from distressed companies to ease a protracted property crisis. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index closed up 4.9% to the highest [Read more]

US bike shops boomed early in pandemic, now facing bumpy ride ...

20/05/2024

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Russian court freezes assets of two German banks in gas project dispute ...

20/05/2024

VIENNA — A court in the Russian city of St. Petersburg has ordered the seizing of assets of Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank in the country, the Russia state news agency Tass says. The order is in response to a lawsuit over the planned construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal in the Baltic Sea. The banks were among th [Read more]

China launches anti-dumping probe into EU, US, Japan, Taiwan plastics...

20/05/2024

Beijing — China's commerce ministry on Sunday launched an anti-dumping probe into POM copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, imported from the European Union, United States, Japan and Taiwan. The plastics can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc and have various applications including in auto parts, electronics, and m [Read more]

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